HAUNTED Age Rating and Content Warning Explained
What the HAUNTED: Are You Alone? content warning covers, who it is not suitable for, and how to check the age rating on the Meta store page.
Anyone searching for the HAUNTED: Are You Alone? age rating is usually trying to answer one practical question: is this safe to hand to a teenager, or to play with the family around? The honest answer has two parts. The developer publishes a clear content warning, and the exact age rating is shown on the Meta Horizon Store listing, which is the place to check it. This article explains what the warning says in plain language and how to use it.
Where to find the official rating
The age rating is set and displayed by the store, not by this article. Open the HAUNTED listing on the Meta Horizon Store and read the rating and descriptors there before buying. Ratings can differ by region, so check the one shown for your own account.
What the developer says on its own HAUNTED page is consistent and unambiguous: this is an intense horror game and it is not suitable for children.
The content warning, line by line
The official content warning names three things.
- Sudden loud sounds, flashing and darkened light, gore and intense jump scares. This is the actual content. It is not a mild "spooky" experience.
- Not suitable for children, for people who are pregnant, or for anyone with epilepsy, heart conditions or anxiety disorders. These are groups for whom sudden shocks, flashing light or a racing pulse could be a genuine problem.
- You play in your real room. Clear the area, stay inside your boundary and take the headset off whenever you feel unwell.
The terms of service add a line worth repeating: if you have ever had a seizure, loss of awareness or other symptom linked to an epileptic condition, consult a doctor before playing. All characters and events in the game are fictional.
What "gore" and "intense" mean in this game
The game is built around things that attack you. Public descriptions mention giant arms breaking through walls that you cut apart with an axe or sword, crawling skulls, a graveyard where you fight the dead with firearms, and a room that slowly fills with blood. A cursed nun and a teleporting witch are part of the cast. If you picture a horror film with a violent monster rather than a ghost story, you are in the right range.
Because it is mixed reality, the effect lands closer to home than on a screen. The monsters share your room through passthrough, and sound comes from real directions in the space.
Why age matters more in VR
Even for games with the same content, VR can feel more immersive than a TV. Meta's own platform rules set a minimum age for using Quest headsets, and the HAUNTED privacy policy says you must meet the minimum age required by your headset platform and by the game's age rating. That means two separate gates: the headset's age requirement and the game's rating.
For a parent, that suggests a simple order of checks:
- Does your child meet the headset platform's minimum age?
- Does the store rating for HAUNTED allow their age?
- Even if both are yes, would you be comfortable with them seeing gore and being startled in their own bedroom?
The developer's own stance suggests the answer to the third question should lean cautious.
Practical advice for adults deciding for themselves
If you are an adult who simply wants to know whether it will bother you, the content warning is a good proxy. If you hate sudden loud noises and flashing lights, you will notice them. If you find gore uncomfortable, this game does not hide it.
Some sensible habits regardless of age:
- Play in short sessions.
- Tell someone in the house you are playing so a sudden shout does not become a real scare for them.
- Keep the real-world lights on if darkness makes you anxious.
- Remember the game places no penalty on removing the headset.
When someone else is in the room
Because passthrough and the spatial audio mean a bystander may hear gunfire, screams or your own startled yelling, think about who else is within earshot. Younger siblings in the next room can hear more than you expect. Playing when small children are asleep or out is a reasonable courtesy.
FAQ
What is the age rating for HAUNTED: Are You Alone?
Check the Meta Horizon Store listing for the current rating shown for your region. The developer states the game is not suitable for children.
Is HAUNTED safe for people with epilepsy?
The content warning lists flashing and darkened light and says it is not suitable for anyone with epilepsy. If you have any history of seizures, talk to a doctor before playing.
Can pregnant people play?
The developer's warning lists people who are pregnant as a group the game is not suitable for. Follow that and your doctor's advice.
Does the game collect data from children?
The privacy policy says the game does not knowingly collect data from children, and in fact collects no personal data at all. It sends nothing to servers operated by the developer.
